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Lightning Rod Status

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It's quite interesting, moreso than any of the other RMC woodies, lightning rod maintained the "feel" of a wooden coaster. Wildfire, outlaw run and Goliath felt very similar to hybrids, but lightning rod still felt like it had the essence of a wooden coaster. Maybe it's the flex in the track and the slight roughness that gave it that character, but I'm kind of sad it's going to lose that and become "just" another hybrid.

This was the fastest wooden coaster in the world so maybe it exceeded the limits of what RMC wooden track could handle.
 
Lightning Rod was pretty much the only excemption from the trend that nobody builds really big, conventional wooden coasters anymore. It is the only RMC woodie without inversions, as far as I can tell, and its track was at least sort of wooden, giving it a spot on the list of giant woodies like El Toro, T-Express, and arguably Son of Beast (with the loop removed it was pretty conventional, albeit very big). With Lightning Rod's conversion into a hybrid coaster, it leaves Wodan as the tallest and fastest conventional woodie built in the 2010s, only a hair ahead of Python in Bamboo Forest (although the latter's speed is listed as 99.9 km/h, which I guess in practice makes them equally fast within a reasonable margin of error). Anyway, a speed of 100 km/h would make those two tie for 15th place on the list of fastest woodies ever built. Of the 14 before them, 8 were built before 2000 and only two after 2006 (Lightning Rod and T-Express).

They really don't make them like they used to. But then again, if a hybrid track makes a better ride experience than classic wood, I guess we shouldn't be too sad about it.
 
Jackson said:
So I'm guessing I-Box for the launch (so it can be faster again), pre-drop, drop, wave turn, quad down, and the final turnaround. Those seem to be the areas with the most forces.
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It will be in the places where stress on the track is prominent so I think it's likely to be those sections!
 
Pokemaniac said:
Lightning Rod was pretty much the only excemption from the trend that nobody builds really big, conventional wooden coasters anymore. It is the only RMC woodie without inversions, as far as I can tell, and its track was at least sort of wooden, giving it a spot on the list of giant woodies like El Toro, T-Express, and arguably Son of Beast (with the loop removed it was pretty conventional, albeit very big). With Lightning Rod's conversion into a hybrid coaster, it leaves Wodan as the tallest and fastest conventional woodie built in the 2010s, only a hair ahead of Python in Bamboo Forest (although the latter's speed is listed as 99.9 km/h, which I guess in practice makes them equally fast within a reasonable margin of error). Anyway, a speed of 100 km/h would make those two tie for 15th place on the list of fastest woodies ever built. Of the 14 before them, 8 were built before 2000 and only two after 2006 (Lightning Rod and T-Express).

They really don't make them like they used to. But then again, if a hybrid track makes a better ride experience than classic wood, I guess we shouldn't be too sad about it.
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I know this is a somewhat late reply, but if Lightning Rod is (was?) a wooden coaster, then surely Goliath at SFGAm, Wildfire at Kolmarden and Outlaw Run would be wooden coasters too? Only asking as they are all faster and taller than Wodan/Python.

I’m not trying to be pedantic for the sake of it, I was only wondering what your thought process was, as LRod is/was the same ride type as Wildfire, Goliath and Outlaw Run (Topper Track, which RCDB considers wooden).

Very interesting to see this taking shape, however; seeing such a new coaster, and one which is already an RMC, getting RMC’d is incredibly interesting! Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first time IBox Track has ever been used for a like-for-like replacement of a ride’s track as opposed to a full layout change with new elements being added?
 
Matt N said:
I know this is a somewhat late reply, but if Lightning Rod is (was?) a wooden coaster, then surely Goliath at SFGAm, Wildfire at Kolmarden and Outlaw Run would be wooden coasters too? Only asking as they are all faster and taller than Wodan/Python.

I’m not trying to be pedantic for the sake of it, I was only wondering what your thought process was, as LRod is/was the same ride type as Wildfire, Goliath and Outlaw Run (Topper Track, which RCDB considers wooden).

Very interesting to see this taking shape, however; seeing such a new coaster, and one which is already an RMC, getting RMC’d is incredibly interesting! Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first time IBox Track has ever been used for a like-for-like replacement of a ride’s track as opposed to a full layout change with new elements being added?
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@Matt N it is the same however compared to the other Topper Track RMCs, Lighting Rod has excessive wear and tear damage on it's track due to it's high speed transitions and it's launch which puts stress on the track causing it's downtime hence why they're RMCing it!
 
Black I-Box?!

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Photo by Jacob Oberle on Facebook.
 
Matt N said:
I know this is a somewhat late reply, but if Lightning Rod is (was?) a wooden coaster, then surely Goliath at SFGAm, Wildfire at Kolmarden and Outlaw Run would be wooden coasters too? Only asking as they are all faster and taller than Wodan/Python.
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I said "Conventional" woodies, so all of these are disqualified by their inversions. But you could also say that both Goliath and Wildfire reach their height by means of a steel structure for the lift hill, while Outlaw Run's height is partially due to it being a terrain coaster. Then again, so is Python, but Wodan at least is built on flat land.
 
No jokes i actually like this black i-box and i can understand why they went for black rather than blue, it would have looked a bit odd for the gp who wouldn't know what to make of it!
 
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